The invention concerns an apparatus for storing and transporting piece goods, comprising a bottom portion, side or frame portions arranged thereon and a plurality of substantially flexible pockets which are at least partially connected together in groups and which can be at least partially fixed to the frame portions and/or the bottom portion.
Such an apparatus is known from German patent applications Nos P 41 38 507 and 195 49 166. In those known apparatuses, pockets formed from a flexible web material are suspended in a frame on bars which extend through loops at the upper ends of the pockets and which in turn are guided on upper longitudinal frame members of the frame.
In the apparatus known from P 41 38 507 for loading and unloading purposes the pockets are successively individually removed from the guide means of the upper longitudinal frame members and emptied. After all transverse bars carrying the pockets have been pulled out of the guide means of the upper longitudinal frame members of the frame, rigid connections between the individual frame portions can be released so that the frame portions can then be collapsed to the bottom portion to form a more compact unit. However, the pockets have to be transported separately therefrom.
The apparatus known from DE 195 49 166 has an unloading device from which the pockets which have been taken out of the upper frame portion and emptied can be further conveyed into a stowage space which is arranged beneath the upper frame portions and which can also be provided on a carriage, which can be pulled out, of the frame.
Apparatuses of that kind have at the present time their main area of application in the sector of automobile manufacture, in which respect such apparatuses are used to transport the most widely varying individual parts of motor vehicles, in particular also bodywork parts such as doors, door claddings and the like, in such a way that on the one hand they can be quickly and easily packed and removed from the apparatus and on the other hand they are well protected from any damage or normal transportation conditions, in which respect there is also advantageously no packaging material whatsoever that has to be thrown away or disposed of. It will be noted that in order to save on transportation costs it would be desirable if corresponding apparatuses, as soon as they have been completely unloaded, can be collapsed together into as compact a configuration as possible, in which respect however the operations involved in erecting and collapsing apparatuses of that kind should not demand an excessive amount of time.
In the case of above-mentioned P 41 38 507 re-erection of the frame and in particular re-introduction of the individual bars into the upper frame guides is a relatively time-consuming procedure and the fact that the frame and the pockets are under some circumstances collapsed separately from each other and as a result are possibly also transported separately in different receptacles or trucks can result in further complications, in particular if individual parts of the various apparatuses are of different dimensions so that only given pockets and frames fit together.
In comparison with that state of the art, the object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having the features set forth in the opening part of this specification, in which the compartments or pockets or however the apparatus overall can be collapsed or varied relatively simply, that is to say involving a low level of technical complication and expenditure and involving a small amount of time, and can be erected in the finished condition again with the pockets.
That object is attained in that the pockets overall or at least group-wise can be put into a closely collapsed or folded condition and in that condition can be introduced into the housing formed from the bottom portion and the side or frame portions or can be replaced by other pockets.
In the context of the present invention the term xe2x80x9chousingxe2x80x9d is to be interpreted very broadly and therefore includes everything which is suitable for receiving and holding pockets which can be collapsed or folded together. The housing can therefore be a box consisting of closed walls, but equally also a frame which is open towards all sides (including towards the bottom), possibly with the required strut or bracing means, as well as all conceivable hybrid forms comprising open and closed xe2x80x9chousingsxe2x80x9d. In this sense also the terms xe2x80x9cframe portionsxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cside portionsxe2x80x9d are interchangeable.
Preferred alternative configurations of the apparatus according to the invention are distinguished in that a plurality of pockets are formed from interconnected material webs and in the unfolded condition define a compartmentalisation organisation of the housing formed from the bottom portion and the side portions, in which respect optionally a plurality of different pockets or compartment divisions can be fitted into a housing.
A particularly preferred embodiment provides that the frame portions are arranged pivotably or releasably on the bottom portion and that the pockets which are collapsed or folded together and the frame portions can be received on the bottom portion or in the bottom portion in such a way that neither the pockets nor the frame portions project beyond the base area of the bottom portion.
The apparatus according to the invention is preferably of such a configuration that the bottom portion can receive all individual portions which go to make up the entire transportation apparatus, that is to say the bottom portion is in the form of a hollow box or frame into which all individual parts can be fitted or at least laid thereon. If the parts are only laid thereon at the top, it will be appreciated that it is desirable if they are fixed or can be fixed to the bottom portion in that condition of being disposed thereon. In specific terms therefore both the pockets in the folded-together condition and also the side portions which can possibly be removed or folded in can be received in or on the bottom portion. For that purpose it is only necessary to suitably select the dimensions of the apparatus, in other words the side portions and the pockets for example should be no higher or in the folded-over or removed or collapsed condition no wider and also no longer than the bottom portion is wide or long respectively.
In this respect therefore no frame portions should project beyond the limits of the base area defined by the bottom portion as correspondingly projecting parts cause problems in terms of transportation, can damage other articles or can also result in injury to people.
It is particularly desirable in this respect if the pockets, in order to be collapsed, do not have to be released from any frame portions on which they are suspended, but if they can be placed jointly with those frame portions for example in a box-shaped bottom portion. In this respect those frame portions, that is to say in particular longitudinal frame members, on which are suspended transverse frame members extending transversely through loops on the pockets, must be released from the other frame portions, and the frame members must obviously also fit into the bottom portion.
The pockets can be open at the top and the ends and they can be joined together for example in one piece or however they can form separate, U-shaped loops so that damping material in the form of foamed plates or the like can also be respectively arranged therebetween.
In a particular embodiment of the present invention the pockets at least partially comprise a sufficiently stiff material so that although on the one hand they are foldable, on the other hand they can be set up in a free-standing fashion at least in an unfolded and opened condition. For example the individual pockets which are essentially formed from web material extending in a U-shaped could have at their ends sufficiently stiff foldable strips of material or those end material webs can be made from side portions which are sufficiently stiff but nonetheless foldable or provided with one or more fold lines. It is particularly preferable in that respect if a plurality of pockets are oriented in succession and are of an interconnected configuration, in which case the respective ends thereof jointly form an interconnected concertina configuration.
The pockets can also be folded together and pulled apart in a concertina-like fashion, in which case strut means, hooks or the like should desirably be provided on the bottom portion and/or the frame, so that by means thereof the pockets can be held in their completely unfolded condition on the apparatus.
The first and/or the last in this series of interconnected pockets can desirably also have at their respective end walls a material web which can be laid in the manner of a cover onto the upwardly open sides of the pockets so that the pockets are closed at the top.
Furthermore, a preferred embodiment of the present invention is one in which a strap encompasses a group of pockets or all pockets of a corresponding apparatus on at least three sides, wherein the strap is preferably guided through loops (33) along the two end surfaces of the pockets. The central part of the strap which comes into engagement with the front surface or the rearward surface of the first and last pockets respectively can have a reinforcement in the form of a more or less stiff inlay portion or portion disposed thereon, or that central part of the strap can also be replaced by a bar, strip or the like so that the two remaining ends of the strap engage the ends of that bar which extends transversely over a pocket and the individual pockets can thus be drawn together to form a compact unit. It will be appreciated that the strap may also have suitable tightening or connecting elements in order to hold the pockets in the condition of being drawn together.
The pockets which are correspondingly connected together in a concertina-like fashion and which can be set up in a substantially free-standing configuration do not have to be suspended individually but they can stand freely on the bottom portion or however they only have to be fixed to the bottom portion or the frame portions at a few points, for example in the region of the first and last pockets. Thos connections are quick and easy to release and can be equally quickly and easily restored so that the pockets can be very easily folded together and fitted into or onto the bottom portion, whereupon the frame portions which of course do not necessarily have to be provided can then also be folded in so that thereafter the apparatus forms a very compact, substantially cuboidal unit.